Cannock 1s 5-2 Lichfield 1s

Cannock started brightly and soon got on top of their Staffordshire opposition and were rewarded by taking the lead through a Cole Hickman goal.

Instead of kicking on, Cannock dropped their level of play and the game became scrappy and allowed Lichfield to get back into the game through a penalty stroke whihc saw the first half end 1-1.

A stern half time team talk saw a different Cannock team come out in the 2nd half and an early penalty corner from Callum Stacey saw Cannock retake the lead.

Despite continuous dominance from the home side Lichfield were next to score with a scrappy equaliser.

This set back forced Cannock to move up a gear & continuous pressure saw Cannock quickly retake the lead through Jamie Park and this was quickly followed by a neat Kyle Gladwin finish.

With the game almost over, Callum Stacey scores his second penalty corner of the day and see a final score of Cannock 5-2 Lichfield.

 

Cannock 2/3s 2 - 5 Lichfield 

Cannock started well despite beginning game with ten players, despite this good start the hosts took the lead before Lewis Michael equalised from a good Cannock move. Cannock pushed for a second but were wasteful in possession in key areas and found themselves gifting Lichfield a 3-1 half time lead.

Second half Cannock were pegged back as Lichfield pressed well and were direct in their game. As another goal was conceded, James Griffiths replied with the goal of the game skulking beating seven defenders and the keeper to play the ball into the empty goal. Sadly that was Cannock last effort and Lichfield scored again to run out 5-2 winners. Cannock will need to maintain their composure for longer spells if they are to be successful this year.

 

Cannock 5s 2 - 5 Lichfield 3s

Played their first pre-season friendly away from home and took on team comprised almost entirely of Lichfield 's 3rd team and gave them a real scare. (The 5ths will face Lichfield 5th and 6th teams in the league this season)

During the first half,  Cannock had the bulk of possession but had to defend well against a dangerous opposition. When they did enter the Cannock D, the back 3 of Micklewright, Weldon and  Cameron Horn dealt with the threat else composure. Captain and keeper Rufus Horn was called into action on a number of occasions, making a series of fine saves. However, Lichfield took their chances better than Cannock, forcing 2 goals following the breakdown of penalty corners.

At half time, Cannock were told to concentrate on what was being done well - good passing, communication and working hard for each other. Cannock immediately put the opposition on the back foot and Alan Craddock rifled in a short corner strike that the post man could not stop. Cannock continued to exert pressure but couldn't convert this good work into goals. Lichfield restored the 2 goal gap from.a short corner that wasn't cleared on the 3rd attempt. However, Cannock struck back almost immediately with a fine run and cross from Lewis Michael which was finished well by Callum McGarrie.

With the score at 3-2, keeper Horn was forced into further action but a resurgent Cannock pushed hard for the equaliser, before being caught on the break twice in the last 5 minutes, making the final score 5-2.

Cannock's #properhockeyplayers should  be proud of themselves for competing so well against a talented and theoretically superior opposition. With several key players yet to return, this performance bodes well for the coming season.

Skipper Rufus Horn was voted Man of the Match for an performance in the Cannock goal.

 

Cannock Badgers returned to action this week with their first game of the season against Lichfield Badgers.

Following a positive team talk and a light training session as the warm-up the match got underway. Cannock started brightly, looking to apply early pressure on the Lichfield defence. However, the Lichfield midfield competed well and negated the Cannock attacks. As the half progressed Lichfield looked more and more dangerous, but struggled to test Joe Thomas, Cannock’s keeper.

Cannock’s best move of the first half was a sweeping move down the Cannock left resulting in Connor Lloyd-Smith having an attempt at goal that beat the Lichfield keeper but also the far post and just went wide.

The half finished 0-0 with Lichfield finishing the stronger team.

Lichfield started the second half as they finished the first, stretching the Cannock defence and earning a short corner. As Cannock failed to clear the short corner a clean strike beat the Cannock keeper and Lichfield were 1-0 to the good.

The second half continued with Lichfield pressing with more and more chances being created as Cannock tired. Failure to clear the Cannock ‘D’ lead to a second Lichfield goal. Cannock tried hard to respond, but the Lichfield defence was too strong.

At the final whistle Cannock Badgers was a tired team and Lichfield had won 2-0.

There is plenty Cannock players can learn from this first match of the season with the focus during the next couple of weeks being fitness, first touch and accurate passing.

 

Cannock Ladies 1s 2 - 2 Sutton Coldfield 

Cannock played an experienced Sutton side who have been established in the national league for some time

Cannock showed true grit and desire but lacked a little physicality which punished them to take them 1-0 down

But the newly formed Cannock team didn't drop their heads and pushed on to gain the equaliser before half time from a short corner that was scuffled over the line by Laura Hughes

The second half continued with the same quick pace it started with and a quick break away saw Cannock go 2-1 through Leah Redfern

Despite Cannock's beat efforts they couldn't keep Sutton out and they equalised with a nicely taken second shot from a short corner

2-2 was a fair result in a competitive game

 

Cannock ladies 2's 3 - 6 Lichfiled 1s

Cannock faced Lichfield 1's who are placed in the league above us. Half of our squad had already played a full game for our 3's and we lost 2 players to injury so a couple of the 3's stepped in to help us out. After conceding 2 very quick goals we settled into the game and after 20 mins grabbed 2 breakaway goals both, one on one with the Lichfield keeper, put away calmly by Sophie Tibbets and Nic George. Lichfield scored again before half time. During the second half we played well equalising but then conceded another 3 making the final score 6-3.

Ladies 3s 2 - 10 Lichfeld 2s

Cannock played a friendly against Lichfield ladies 2nd team and the first half showed a fantastic performance by the whole team with Cannock having a lot of possession and many outcomes in the Lichfield half. At half time the score was 1-1.

Unfortunately match fitness took its toll during the second half and Cannock defence struggled against the more experienced Lichfield side who broke them down well on the break. Final result was a loss of 10-2 to cannock. There were many learning points for the team to take away and it was a good challenge to start the season with.

Many of the team then went on to play again in the following game against Lichfield ladies first team. So match fitness should be significantly improved ready for next week! Thanks to our supporters on the sidelines.

 

Ladies 4s and 5s went to WATS for thier annual tournament ,

We had tough games with it being a Div 1&2 opposition,

Played 4 games ...

Lost 1-0

Lost 4-0

Lost 1-0

Drew 0-0

I have to say that we had a GK who has never played in goal and only a few training sessions and she played really well,

Lots to work on in our individual teams but good to see some fresh upcoming players